Welcome to your heart's longing meditation.
Begin your practice by finding a place where you can practice this meditation undisturbed.
You might choose to have a journal with you to record any insights after the meditation.
And start by setting up your body so that you can be completely comfortable.
This might be in a seated or lying down position.
Making any adjustments that you need for your comfort and ease.
And then starting to settle into the flow of your natural breath.
Noticing all of the places that the breath goes as you breathe in.
And all of the places the breath goes as you breathe out.
Noticing what sensations light up in your body as you're aware of the breath in this way.
Beginning to scan your body,
Perhaps starting with your head.
Feeling into your face,
Mouth,
Ears,
Eyes,
The inside of the head.
Sensing the neck and shoulders.
Breathing and sensing through the arms and hands.
Feeling your way into the chest and abdomen,
Your back.
Becoming aware of sensation in the hips,
Legs,
All the way down to your feet.
Welcoming everything.
Not trying to fix or change anything.
Just noticing what's here,
What's present,
What's alive in you in this moment.
Perhaps with the breath,
Beginning to feel into your heart.
This could be your physical heart or your energetic heart,
Which you may or may not feel in your chest.
Noticing sensations,
Feelings and emotions in your energetic heart.
Perhaps a sense of love,
A sense of longing.
And before going any deeper,
Making note of your safe space,
This is a place in you where you feel completely safe and totally at peace.
Coming into contact with those feelings of safety and peace,
Knowing that you can return to them at any point in the meditation if you become overwhelmed or feel like something has come forward that you can't quite feel yet.
You can always return to this inner sense of safety and peace.
Coming back to the heart,
To the energetic heart,
And asking yourself,
What is my heart's deepest desire?
The response may come in words,
Images,
A feeling,
An inner knowing,
As a stillness.
Just asking the question,
What is my heart's deepest desire?
And noticing what comes forward.
And just being with it,
Being with this deep desire inside of yourself.
Perhaps noticing the ways that it's shaped your life so far.
Noticing the ways it continues to shape your life.
And then,
Whatever your heart's desire is,
If it's coming in words,
Languaging it in the present tense so that you can feel it more in the here and now.
So,
If your heart's deepest desire is for freedom,
Instead of,
I long for freedom,
You might language it as,
I am freedom itself.
Finding the words that are the truest fit for you and noticing how it acts on the body and mind to language it this way.
We're experimenting here.
We're not bypassing any of the ways that it might not feel true.
Definitely notice those,
Pay attention to them.
But also noticing the places where it feels already true,
As a deep part of your being.
And as you rest with your heart and with this deep desire that shapes your life,
You might begin to notice other longings.
You might spend time with your heart,
Feeling into what else your heart longs for.
Peace,
Rest,
Well-being,
Authentic connection.
What comes forward for you?
What is it like to meet these longings?
Where do you feel them in your body?
Notice if any corresponding thoughts or emotions or beliefs come with them.
Not pushing away anything,
Bringing awareness to them.
If it feels right,
You can always let other thoughts and emotions know that you'll come back and spend time with them more later to receive their messages.
Tuning in consciously to the breath once more,
All of the places the breath goes as you breathe in,
And all of the places it goes as you breathe out.
Breathing into your heart,
Sensing your body,
Sensing your body resting on the surface it's on.
And with the support of the breath,
As it feels right,
Taking however much time you need,
Begin to transition back to normal waking consciousness.
You might wiggle your fingers and toes,
Blink your eyes open and closed a few times,
Make micro-adjustments or movements,
Whatever way feels good for you,
Before returning back to your daily life.
Remember that you can make notes in your journal,
That you can return to this meditation at any time.
Thank you.
